A fisherman of Sarteneja Village, Corozal, is missing and feared dead after a boating mishap sometime around ten on Sunday morning in the Bay of Sarteneja. The fisherman, Edwardo Dominguez, was traveling towards the Bacalar Chico Nature Reserve along with another fisherman identified only as Barajona when the incident happened. Today Love News spoke with Lieutenant Gregory Soberanis of the Belize Coastguard Service, who shared the information to us.

“The operation command center here at the coast guard received a call from the Sarteneja police station that there was a report of a capsized vessel. One, Mr. Barahona reported to police that he, himself and another individual were travelling to Bacalar Chico when the vessel capsized; he was able to swim ashore and made his way to the police station to make a report. The other individual, Mr. Edwardo Dominguez is still unaccounted for at this time. As the Coast Guard, the Commandant directed that a patrol be deployed to that area where search efforts are ongoing at this time augmented with the locals in that area trying to locate Mr. Dominguez; so far he has not been found. We know it is in the Bay of Sarteneja; he said that when they capsized it’s approximately 3-4 miles east of Sarteneja in that general area; so that’s the area we are currently searching. We have recovered the vessel; it is a white sail vessel with a 75 horse power engine; both the vessel and engine have been recovered but of course, Mr. Dominguez is still unaccounted for at this time.”

Soberanis said that considering the current weather conditions at sea, a seasoned fisherman would be able to survive for about 72 hours if he manages to reach shore. A joint Coast Guard, Police and civilian search party is combing the Sarteneja bay in the hopes of locating Edwardo Dominguez alive. Coast Guard personnel were also busy earlier today rescuing the passengers of another marine vessel sailing from Honduras to Mexico that experienced engine failure and drifted off the northern end of Ambergris Caye into Mexican waters this morning.

“A vessel was sailing from Honduras to Mexico; the vessel had experienced engine failure and was drifting. We conducted further investigations and we found out that there were 8 persons on board; the gentleman that forwarded the information to us resides here in Belize, it was a friend of his; he had communication with the captain of the vessel that was drifting and they had electronic equipment on board so they were able to give us the coordinates of where they were; we plotted the coordinates and we realized they were actually in Mexico waters or Mexico sea spaces; we have a relationship with the Mexican Navy, so we were able to contact or Mexican counterparts and they were able to deploy a search unit from Xcalak to locate this vessel with 8 passengers on board. The initial coordinates that they gave to us, the vessel was located approximately 11 miles east of Xcalak. They continued to drift in a north ward direction and eventually they were found by the Mexican Navy where they were taken to safe harbor and were later brought back to Belizean waters.”

Soberanis advises mariners to stay in port when there is a small craft warning in effect and to listen to the weather news for advisories on when it is safe again to venture out in the high seas.

The search at sea continues for a missing San Andres fisherman

Edwardo Dominguez, a fisherman from San Andres Village is missing after the vessel he and a companion was travelling in capsized at sea. The accident happened shortly around 10AM on Sunday July 14th as the two fishermen were heading to an area near Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve located on northern Ambergris Caye. According to Lieutenant Gregory Soberanis, Belize National Coast Guard Operation Officer, after the incident was reported on Sunday they immediately launched a search and rescue operation. “We got a report from the Police at Sarteneja village of a capsized vessel east of village. One Ryan Barahona reported to police that he, along with one Edwardo Dominguez, were on a white 23-foot sail boat named Elena, heading to Bacalar Chico when they capsized,” explained Soberanis.

He said that Barahona reported that he managed to swim to shore safely, but unfortunately Dominguez remains unaccounted for. “The Belize National Coast Guard, assisted by local fishermen in the area, is currently conducting search efforts in the entire area to locate Dominguez. Barahona is attributing the accident to bad weather. As you know, on Sunday there was a tropical wave that moved over the country so the weather was not suitable for small craft,” said Soberanis.

It has been over 24 hours since the accident, and so far the search and rescue teams have only located the capsized vessel. “The vessel has been found and the search continues for the missing person. We are considering several elements during the search and rescue; we are looking at the tide and current flow pattern since yesterday. We plotted the last known position and coordinate and based on the flow of the currents and tide patterns, and taking into consideration the changes, we proceed with the search. If he is in the water, it will give us an indication as to the direction in which it is believed that he is drifting. It also helps us to better concentrate our efforts in specific areas. We want to believe that Dominguez is still alive and that is why we are actively conducting the search efforts. We don’t want to lose hope at this time,” said Soberanis. Family members and fishermen in village as well as from San Pedro Town have joined the search teams, but so far, efforts have been unsuccessful.

Click here to read the rest of the article and see more photos in the San Pedro Sun

On Monday night, we told you about the search being conducted for Edwardo Dominguez, a fisherman from the village of San Andres in the Corozal District. Dominguez was missing since Sunday morning when misfortune struck during a fishing trip to Bacalar Chico near North Ambergris Caye. The skiff on which Dominguez and another fisherman, Ryan Barahona, were making that trip capsized in rough waters about a mile outside of Sarteneja. Barahona managed to make it to shore by holding onto a fuel tank, but there was no sign of Dominguez. Roughly forty-eight hours after he went missing, the worst fears of Dominguez’s family and friends were confirmed when his body was found floating in the waters between Bacalar Chico and Cerros. At around eleven this morning, the body was retrieved from the sea by the Coast Guard and transported to the main pier in Corozal, where it was handed over to the Corozal Police. The family planned to bury Dominguez this evening because of the state of decomposition of his body.

Fisherman's Dead Body Recovered From The Sea

Tonight the family of a 29 year old fisherman from the Village of San Andres in the Corozal District, is mourning his death after his body was recovered from the sea this morning at around 9:00. On Sunday, 27 Twenty seven year old Ryan Barahona and 29 year old Edwardo Dominguez headed out to sea in a small skiff.

Their destination was Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve near the Chetumal Bay. But halfway to their destination the men encountered bad weather which caused the boat to capsize about three to four miles east of Sarteneja Village. Dominguez kept afloat on an icebox while Barahona managed to swim to shore for help.

But by the time police and the Coast Guard arrived in the area where the boat had capsized, Dominguez was not a good swimmer, was nowhere in sight. Today the family’s worst fears proved true as Dominguez’s dead body was found floating near Cerros, approximately five to six miles from where the boat overturned. Victor Castillo reports from Corozal Town.

Victor Castillo – Reporting

After almost 72 hours, the search for 29 year old Edwardo Dominguez, who went missing on Sunday after the boat he was in capsized approximately three to four miles east of Sarteneja, ended this morning.

Dominguez’s body was found by the Coast Guard, floating near the Cerros Point at around 9:00 in an advance state of decomposition. That’s approximately five to six miles from where the boat Dominguez and 27 Twenty seven year old Ryan Barahona were travelling on capsized. Both men, accompanied by two dogs, headed out to sea on Sunday.

Before reaching Bacalar Chico, near the Chetumal Bay, a bad weather caused the vessel to capsize.

As mentioned last night, Dominguez was not a good swimmer so he stayed behind, hanging on to a white cooler, while Barajona swam to shore for help. Barajona swam for almost four hours using a gas tank to keep afloat. As soon as he set foot on land the incident was reported to the Coast Guard who immediately launched a search and rescue operation.

CTV3 News understands that the search team had to return to shore, specifically to Corozal Town to get assistance from the Police Department to retrieve the body from the area. Once the Detectives were on site, Dominguez’s body was brought back to shore.

As the victim’s family waited by the Corozal pier for the Coast Guard to return with the remains of their loved one, we spoke to them about the dreadful incident.